May 6, 2025 • 32 mins
When 26-year-old Silje and her husband Jordan decided to expand their family beyond their 18-month-old son Mads, they never imagined what would happen next. In today's episode, Silje shares the breathtaking moment at her dating scan when the sonographer counted not one, not two, but three heartbeats—completely spontaneous fraternal triplets with no family history of multiples.
From navigating a high-risk pregnancy while caring for a toddler and maintaining her legal career, to the extraordinary cesarean birth where she'd already named each baby based on their distinct movements in utero. Silje takes us through her journey of delivering Ada, Teddy and Eric at 34 weeks, and how this unexpected blessing transformed her into an advocate for multiple birth families across Australia.
Diary Of A Birth features mums telling their miraculous stories of bringing life into the world. If you’d like to share your birth story, we’d love to hear from you at podcast@mamamia.com.au or send us a voice note here.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
You're listening to a MoMA Mia podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Mamma Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters
that this podcast is recorded on. We pay our respects
to elders past, present and emerging, and feel privileged to
continue the sharing of birth stories and knowledge that has
been a fundamental part of Indigenous culture.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
I'm Cassenya Lukij and this is diary of a birth.
Growing a baby is truly a remarkable thing, from the
tiny poppy seed to a fully grown baby in just
nine months. If you've had a pregnancy, you know that
the reality is that it's often not an easy task.
But the thought of housing multiples has always been absolutely
(01:08):
astounding to me. Wanting to grow her family, today's mum
went for her dating scan with baby number two, expecting
nothing out of the ordinary. But then the old sound
tech started count one, two, three.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
She was having triplets, and then she took second to
be like, and there's a third one over here. And
at that point I was like, my eyes were just
so shocked, and I was like, please stop counting.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
With a toddler in tow a demanding career and a
two bedroom apartment, things were about to change. Traumatically, leading
her to not only deliver three healthy babies, but also
becoming an advocate for parents of multiples. So let's meet
today's mum.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Hi, this is Celia and this is the diary of
my birth with triplets.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
So, Celia, you have a pretty incredible story. You know
the work that you do now, which we'll talk about
a little bit later. But you and your husband Jordan,
had an eighteen month old bub Mad's and decided that
you wanted to grow your family. So what did that
kind of look like? What year are we talking?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Oh, this is post COVID or still in the COVID times,
about twenty twenty one, and we were looking to have
another child. We really loved matt'son, really enjoyed the experience,
and we just tried too hard. I think we were
really looking forward to growing our family.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
And did you forull pregnant fairly easily?
Speaker 1 (02:47):
I did for pregnant surprisingly quickly. I think I had
just taken out the IUD birth control and we're going
to start straight away. And I pretty much got pregnant
literally the next cycle. So it was really quick and
sudden and exciting.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah, but also such a shock even when you want
to if you're like, Okay, I've got some time. Maybe
we've got like six months, maybe it's three months, and
then it happens straight away. There is that element of.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Shock finitely, especially because with Mad's my first child. We
weren't really trying. It just happened, So I had no idea,
you had no metric of how long I'd have to
wait to have a second child or how long it
might take. So we were were really not thinking about
it too much and then it just happened so quickly. Yeah,
and it was really exciting.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
If you don't mind me asking, how old were you
when you fell pregnant with the triplets.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
With the triplets, it's twenty six.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Twenty six, okay, so fairly young. You go to your
dating scan, and can you tell me about the experience
of walking in the dating scan with Jordan.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
It was still COVID time, so there was a chance
Jordan wouldn't even be able to come to that scan
for some reason, and we found a place where he
could come and he did, And I was feeling so
confident walking into that dating scan because I was like,
you know, when you have a second kid and you're like, okay,
more confident parent. This time around, I felt like really
(04:18):
excited to do some things that I hadn't done with
my first child that I felt like, I'm going to
do it differently this time. And that just fully went
out the window when I was in this dating scan,
so lying down adult sound, and the woman who was
doing the scan just looked at us and you know
when it's really quiet and you're like, oh my gosh,
(04:39):
what's wrong. Yeah, taking a long time, and she was
just like, how did you get pregnant? How did you conceive?
And I was like, what do you mean? I thought
it was a really odd question. Was those small talk
the usual way or you know? She was like, okay,
because I'll just tell you what I can see here
and I was like, okay, yeah, what can you see?
(05:01):
And she was like, I've got one here, I've got
a heartbeat, and I was like great. She's like, and
I can see a second one over here, and at
that point we were like, oh my gosh, twins, Like
that's exciting. And then she took a second to be
like and there's a third one over here, and at
that point I was like my eyes were just so
shock and I was like, please stop counting, like is
(05:24):
that like? Because the way she said it was like
so much drama. And she was like, I'll just check
there's no more and I was like, yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
You will check, Please, will Chase do what else.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Is in there? Jordan was laughing, He was just smiling
at me. He just thought this is incredible. It's a miracle.
And I was just like I couldn't process. I was
just like going to shock. Basically, you're just thinking like
what is going on. We actually got her to print
out the ultrasound pictures because I was like I need them.
I need to be able to see that this is real.
(05:59):
And we walked out of that and the thoughts that
go through your head after you find out that information.
I was just like going through so many logistical thoughts
like do we need a big car? Do we need
to move house because we live in a two bedroom
house in Sydney renting, and like what kind of pram
do you have with triplets? And just immediately down this
(06:20):
like rabbit hole of thoughts and me and Jordan get
back to our house. I just remember I was like,
can you just get a piece of paper? We need
to like work out all the things that we need
like very practical.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Geahn, are you quite type A?
Speaker 1 (06:33):
I guess organized about this? I was like, if I
can work out how this could work, like okay, make
some decisions like we're going to move house or do
we need a car, and just work those things out,
like what kind of prem would I want? Would we
need to get? Then I felt like, okay, we can
do it.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
After we had that conversation and I went down like
rabbit holes of like other mums on Instagram who had
triplets and how to look at what prems they used
or what their experience was. And that was like my
day one level of knowledge of like how I'm going
to do this? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
So, I mean, spontaneous triplets is not very common. As
we know. It's an egg that comes down, and if
you're dropping multiple eggs, you get twins. If the egg splits,
you get an identical twin. But to have three eggs drop, yeah,
three eggs fertilized spontaneously is not particularly common. No, So
(07:30):
what was your family's response.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Neither side of our family has any multiples, so it
wasn't on our radar at all. Really did not cross
my mind that this could be a possibility for me.
This could happen to me, and my family were just
equally as shocked and just like show me the photos
because I don't believe you, and then yeah, they were
(07:53):
just trying to match our energy. We were really excited. Obviously,
you can have mixed feelings, so normal to have mixed
feelings about finding out that you're having multiples. I'd made
the decision quite early on. I don't even think it
was really a decision that I would be going ahead
with this, and I'm a triplet mum.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah, I don't think it would be abnormal though for
someone to think is this something that I can handle?
And I think that that would be a really no
more thought to have. But yeah, look, obviously a complete shock, overwhelmed,
but you took it anyway. You know what, these are
the cards that we have been dealt, and we're going
to manage theirs.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Ye.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
So obviously being a multiple pregnancy, a triple pregnancy, you
were considered high risk. What was your prenatal care?
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Like I had a really good GPS that i'd been
seeing since like i'd had MADS, so I was really
fortunate and I went to see her immediately and I
was like, have you seen this scan, and she was
like in a really thoughtful way, she was like, not
everyone can handle this sort of what you're saying, and
(09:01):
there are options if you can't. And I just felt
like that was a really beautiful way of putting it.
But at that point, I was nine weeks, you know,
from the beginning of finding out it already accepted like
diet am going through with this and obviously selective I
don't know what it's called, but you could reduce your pregnancy. Yeah,
(09:22):
and it's really touchy subject with parents of multiples. Yeah,
And obviously different doctors can bring it up in a
really different way, and I really appreciate the way my
GP brought it up at that point. She was like, great,
you're gonna go ahead with it, and like, this is
what we're going to do. You're going to get linked
up with the hospital as a high risk pregnancy. So
(09:44):
I was referred to the RPA and started seeing different doctors.
Basically every time I went to the clinic, I'd get
a new doctor and just have really long scans that
would take forever because they have to assess each baby,
and the part that took the longest was working out
(10:04):
which one was which yeah, making sure that they're scanning
the right one every time.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
So was it three fraternal?
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yes, so it's called TCTA. So try choreonic, try amniotic.
They're each in their own sack, they each had their
own center. They couldn't guarantee that they were for eternal
from the start, but once they were born, it was
obvious to me that they were fraternal, at least the
two boys.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
You must have been starving, Oh, I was so hungry.
I know that sounds like a crazy question, but I mean,
growing three babies, that's a huge undertaking. How did you
feel within your body as you were growing these babies?
Were you scared for if your body could handle it?
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Absolutely? I think I kept kind of reverting back to
this match, like my body created these humans and it
can handle them. But I was really scared. I had
no idea. I think I just wasn't prepared. No one's
really prepared to have multiples. And there's so many risks
that the doctor wants to tell you straight up, like
(11:10):
you could experience like much higher risk of premature labor
or birth, and different multiple specific risk to babies like
restricted growth, and if they share a placenter, there's other
risks though. They were like, well, because they've each got
their own, you're having three pregnancies at once, like was
(11:31):
the way they described it. Because other twins could have
a shared placenta or a shared sack, and they have
more risks. So he was like, in a good way,
You've got like the least risky version of a triplet pregnancy,
was what the doctor told me. I was like, okay,
we'll take the winds or I can get it.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Yeah, I was feeling a lot of things. I had
a toddler. I was thinking about him. I was thinking
what that would mean for him. I'm going to be,
you know, really care about my career a lawyer, you know,
young lawyer at the time, and I thought, okay, does
that mean that's over or how much more time am
I gonna have to take off? Just the pressure of
(12:09):
like the COVID times as well, and then just thinking
about the cost, just trying to find other people who've
experienced a triplet pregnancy and have triplets. I didn't know
anyone at the time, any one person that I reached
out to. Just trying to work out so many things
at once.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Yeah, and I mean Mad's was only eighteen months old,
so you know, even with a single pregnancy, running after
a toddler while you're pregnant is exhausting, and being a
lawyer is a very high demand job. Did you speak
to your firm about what that would mean? Did you
talk to them about finishing early?
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Like?
Speaker 2 (12:48):
How supportive were they with you?
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Really supportive. I was really grateful. One of my managers
she had twins. They were like grown up, and so
she was like, welcome to the club, this exclusive club multiples. Yeah.
So it was such a warm reception to the news.
And I remember doing it on a team meeting because
(13:12):
we were all working from home at the time, I think,
and just been like I've got an announcement like pregnant,
and team was like, yeah, yeah, that's exciting and not
like a huge surprise because I had an eighteen month old,
you know. But then I put a photo of the ultrasound,
like shared screen with the ultrasound image and everyone was like,
what do you mean.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
It's definitely not something that you hear every day coming up.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
So I just have this moment that was like so
special where they put all three babies on my chest
and Jordan's taking this video of me, and I just
couldn't believe it. I was like, did this really happen?
Speaker 2 (13:54):
So let's talk about towards the end of the pregnancy.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
How are you feeling tired, exhausted and still trying to
look after Mads and do things. And I was just
saying the other day, like, I don't know if this
is part of that thing where after you give birth
there's a hormone that just tries to wipe your memory
of being pregnant, because I can't actually put myself back
(14:20):
in that body, but I do remember how I was
so tired, I was falling asleep during the day, how
heavy I was, Like I was basically full term by
twenty weeks pregnant, and people would be like, oh, I
must be ready to go any date. I've got weeks
to go, got weeks to go, and I'm getting so big,
so heavy, and dealing with appointments and trying to look
(14:45):
after a toddler and work and also buy a car
and like get all these different things. And I joined
my local multiple berth club, which was amazing because got
so much support from them, emotional and support connection and
also just a place where I could ask the random
niche questions that only a parent of you know, triplets
(15:09):
would ask and get so many different answers and people's suggestions.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
I feel like we're very fortunate in this day and
age where there are so many of these support group
there are no matter what you're going through, there is
probably someone out there that is going through the same thing.
So to have that kind of support makes you feel
a lot less alone. I am absolutely without making assumptions,
I'm assuming you had a cesarean.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Yes, yeah, I mean I don't know.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
You know, sometimes back in the day, they wouldn't it happened.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
It does happen.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
It happened, but obviously for your safety they would have
recommended a cesarean for you.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
When were they hoping to have that in place? It
was a week by week assessment. Actually it was really
like I think it's a product of me almost seeing
a different doctor every time I went to the hospital.
But essentially it would be like, go to the hospital,
get measured, do your ultrasound, see how they're growing, and
(16:06):
then a doctor would look at that and be like, yep,
everything's going fine. And honestly just kept progressing in that
way and there was no reason to rush When it
got to about thirty three weeks thirty four weeks, I
was like, what's going on? Because I am mentally done,
Like I just can't so heavy, I'm not sleeping, I'm
(16:28):
so sore, I've got pups rush. I was getting close
to the end of like when I could hold on
to and it was ideal to keep them in until
about thirty five weeks, something about like their lungs developing,
so I was trying to hold on till then. But
by about thirty four weeks, I was like, please, just
when am I going to do this? And they were like, oh,
(16:48):
we actually don't have any spots for another two weeks
or something, and I was like, no, no, I don't
think you understand. I need to come out sooner than that.
So I had to go kind of through an emergency pathway,
it's what they called it. But it was the same
as what anyone would experience. I guess. It just wasn't
like a set date for me. It was like come
in on Friday and then like probably on the weekend,
(17:11):
like woh, Monday, it will happen. So yeah, I had
an iron infusion because they were concerned about are the
best thing ever yeah, and thank god I had that
because I lost lots of blood. They were like the imfusion. Yeah,
So I did that first and then got admitted into
the hospital with Jordan, and at that time still COVID rules,
(17:34):
so if Jordan had been tested positive with COVID, he
wouldn't be able to be at the birth. So I
was so stressed, Like it was a really stressful time
just in the lead up, being like I'm so done. Also,
we can't get COVID because like you cannot not be there,
and they only allowed one support person the birth. Like
I'm sure that's not the case now, but that just
(17:57):
inevitably meant that we would be separated. Because I knew
that the babies would be born prematurely. They were going
to go to the NIKU and I was going to
go somewhere else. So just like having to come to
terms with you're not going to have this birth that
you had when you had one child. It's going to
(18:17):
be entirely different, and there's lots of things you can't
control having true blitz. So it's just trying to mentally
prepare for that birth that wasn't going to be anywhere
near thing I had experienced or anyone else I knew
had experienced. This is really stressful kind of context and
trying to keep calmness. And yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Mean I think that the mental aspect of it is
incredibly important. And you know, I had one of my
babies in COVID too, and that anxiety of Okay, if
I get COVID, I'm giving birth in a COVID ward alone.
If he gets COVID, he can't come. It's a lot
of additional thoughts and a lot of the stories that
(18:56):
we've been telling recently obviously around that time, but it
was it was this real moment in time of this fear,
additional fear, not to mention that you're also carrying three babies.
So the babies are born on the twenty first of January.
Tell me about when they came out.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Yes, it was an incredible day of anticipation. So me
and Jordan we actually got our own room, and then
I felt like the doctors were kind of fighting over
who could do the birth. This woman doctor was like,
I think I'm going to do it, and I was like, great,
you do it. Like you know, it's a quite exciting
thing for a doctor. I think I assume and we
(19:34):
had a chat with the anesthetist and go down to
the room like I'd had a cesarean before because I
had MADS. And the one request I made to the
doctor was about not getting them mixed up because I'd
already named them inside me. So he was like any
other question. I was like, yes, this one is Eric,
(19:56):
this one is Teddy, and that one's Ada, and you
cannot mix them up when you take them out. Obviously,
Ada you know that one. But the boys I had
already named inside me, just based on their movements. So
I was really stressed that to him, and he's like, okay,
got it.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
I love that you could tell who was moving.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Yeah, I could tell. I could tell. Teddy just had
this personality of like a little soft Teddy Bear and
he wouldn't move very much. And Eric was like kicking
like crazy, Like I have these videos of my stomach
and you'll think, like Frush Show, you'll think it's an
alien or something because it just looks like limbs poking
out of my stomach. That's probably Eric. And it's so
(20:35):
funny just reflecting on that part now, because they could
not have each other's names because Teddy's like this teddy
Bear and Eric is like just this super independent just
wants to run around and like jump on things, and
it matches their personality so much, and it was something
I was so sure about before giving birth. I was like,
(20:55):
don't mix them up, because that is their names. And
it was something that we both agreed we needed to
have sorted because the chaos already of having three. We're
not like naming them afterwards or something. We're like, get
it all done, yeah, make sure they're labeled and got
the names. And so then I got wheeled into the
operating room and obviously Jordan had to step outside because
(21:18):
they don't let them be there when you have the needle,
and he found that really stressful because he was like,
it's so hard not being there with you. But once
he came back in, they started the operation and basically
the same as necessarian that I'd had before. There's nothing
that I hadn't expected, but yeah, the amazement of having
three come out, and also just the incredible amount of
(21:40):
people in that room in the operating theater, like never
seen so many doctors, nurses, like pediatrician, per child like
on standby, Like it was crazy with so many people
and they brought out Ada first and like took down
the sheets so I could see her, and then Teddy
(22:01):
was next, and then Eric and one of the midwives
actually brought Ada to my face so I could see her.
Because I really had the lowest expectations of what could
happen because they were premature. I was thirty four weeks
and five days at that point. You know, they set
you up. They're like, well, if there's an issue, you know,
they might just have to be taken away straight away.
(22:21):
Being able to be next to her, I didn't get
to hold her, but like put our faces together and
see her face. So the first time was incredible. Yeah, yeah, this.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Makes me want to tear up a beautiful Yeah me too. Yeah.
So obviously they had to spend a few weeks in
the niqueu to help their lungs develop. I imagine how
long were they in niku for nineteen days total? That
was actually really good. Yeah, and for being that premature.
After the birth, they went into the recovery and didn't
(22:53):
get to hold them straight away. They were down in
the nicku and Jordan was with them. He was taking
videos of them for me, being very good sending them
to me. Good heave you yeah, very good.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Then it took quite some time, like quite a few
hours for me to actually properly go meet them for
the first time, felt like forever. It was about nine
hours I think after the operation because I had issues,
like with pain. It was in so much pain, like
a nine up twoin. No one was there to advocate
for me. Jordan's with the baby, so I was just
(23:25):
like pressing the button hoping someone will come. Once I
got the pain managed, then me and Jordan went down
there together and I could They had to like wheel
your whole bed down to the NICU.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Well you're not walking delivering three, god know.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
And they let me have a cuddle with one and
then they just put the other two on my chest
as well. So I just have this moment that was
like so special where they put all three babies on
my chest and Jordan's taking this video of me, and
I just couldn't believe it. I was like, did this
really happen? Like I was just feeling so grateful in
(24:05):
that moment that my body managed to do that and
I had these three babies and they were safe, they
were on my chest and I could feel them for
the first time. Properly.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Did you feel really proud of yourself?
Speaker 1 (24:16):
I did. I was just like it's one of those
moments that just takes you out of as weld, Like
it was really timelessly just a moment for me and
for Jordan. Yeah, he was just in so much awe
of how I could do that as well, I think
getting the physical representation of like, wow, how did you
(24:37):
do that? Like You've made these three perfect babies, like
it was, yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
It's beautiful. In nineteen days? So did you I imagine you're
probably in there for about a week.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Yeah, it was about five days to a week I think,
and then yeah, they just sent you home.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
And you just came in I imagine every day to ye, yeah,
do what you need to do.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Yeah, you've got to. We tried to work out a
little routine where we would Mads would be with my
parents and then we would go around the same times,
be feeding times, do a feed. I was breastfeeding two
at once, not trying to and trying to get the
help of the lactation consultants to help me do two
at once so that when I came home I could
(25:17):
do it by myself.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Did you breastfeed for long? All that is amazing. Us
mothers know how challenging breastfeeding can be. One of my
very very close friends went through twins and trying to
tend and breastfeed them was one of the most difficult
things that she went through, and I really applaud you
for that. Well done for doing that, and I can't
(25:40):
imagine how exhausted you would have been through that. I
know you really advocate for support and mental health for
multiple parents. Can you tell me a little bit about
the work that you're doing now.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
When the triples. For about six months, I started volunteering
for the Australian Multiple Birth Association and I'm now the chair.
It really came from a place of feeling so compelled
to help other parents in my situation and who have
multiples feel more supported because I've felt so isolated and
so in need of support throughout the time pregnancy, especially
(26:16):
during the first year of having premature babies at home,
and there just was not enough support in Australia. There
just isn't. There's not enough acknowledgment from the government that
multiples require more support. And so since I've started volunteering
a lot, doing a lot of the advocacy work. We've
(26:36):
been asking the government for parentally per baby because we
think that if we had them one at a time,
we would be eligible for more parental leave. But because
we're so efficient, we have them all together, they can
give us. It's not my fault of efficient exactly. We
obviously need more financial support and support for the organization
(26:58):
so that we're able to support parents better and provide
more hands on community support as well. You're five times
more likely to experience post netal depression if you've had multiples,
and that's a real concern for us. We know that
so many parents say if they had more domestic or
hands on support or more of a community that would
(27:20):
have helped with their mental health, and we want to
be able to provide that to them.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Yeah, kids are expensive, we know they're expensive. You know,
a box of nappies is thirty five forty bucks. You're
going through that multiple times. I mean lower income families,
rural areas. You know, is there a lot of work
that you do with that part of the community as well.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
Yeah, we've got local clubs all over Australia in every
state and territory, and what parents are saying is, yeah,
they're struggling with childcare, they're struggling with the cost of living.
There's no additional relief for a parent of multiples. You
don't get anything. I felt like I was basically treated
as if I had one child going through the system.
And that's a really hard hit to take, and a
(28:02):
lot of families just can't do that. Good friend of
mine who's got quadruplets, you know, she had to set
up a GoFundMe page so that she could be able
to afford extensions to her house. And this is what
you have to resort to when you have more than
you've expected and there's just no support for that.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
It's three times of everything. I mean a car, say
it's six hundred bucks, the PRAM is three hundred to
one thousand dollars, and it's like, oh, we'll just get
your family to help. But like, there's only if everybody
has family, not everybody has family support. And then you're
looking at childcare for two hundred dollars a day, and
then you get a little bit of a rebate, but
(28:40):
then who's working, who's not working, Like it's a huge issue.
So thank you for the work that you're doing. And
I really hope that we can sort of try and
relieve some pressure from mums of multiples. And congratulations on
your babies. How old are they now?
Speaker 1 (28:57):
They're three? Three?
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Are they driving you insane?
Speaker 1 (29:01):
No? I love it. No, they're really funny. Actually, they're
just I feel like I'm writing a childcare. They don't
have their own language. I mean that can can be
common with multiples. But they play their own games together now,
like they're really to imagine itive play, and like they
just without speaking to each other. They don't have a conversation.
They just start doing things like I'll pretend to be
dog and you can walk around like I'm a dog.
(29:23):
And they haven't even had conversation. It's so interesting to
watch them. They're fascinating. It's so much fun.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
At least they're entertaining each other. Yeah, you know that.
That's They've got buddies for life. And I'm sure Mads
isn't too left out either. He's their leader. He's like,
this is what we're doing now. He loves it, he
loves that. Yeah, he's great. Well, thank you so much
for your time today and sharing your story.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Celia's story is astounding to me, but I wanted to
know how common are spontaneous triplets. For this, we turn
to obstetrician and gynecologist doctor Bronwin Devine.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
Well, it's not common at all, but we're seeing more
spontaneous triplets now because fertility clinics are very, very reluctant
to put back multiple embryos and very careful when they're
doing ovulation induction cycles to avoid people having multiple pregnancy.
So we're seeing more spontaneous multiples coming through than we
(30:27):
used to see in the days when fertility clinics were
a little bit more likely to put back multiple embryos
in IVF cycles. But certainly the incidence of spontaneous triplets
in Australia is sort of between about one in six
and a half thousand and one in seven thousand, so
not super common, but you do see them coming through.
And it is always shocking when you go via dating
(30:48):
scan and the sonographer becomes very quiet and suddenly you're
looking at the screen and you can see three sacks
up there and hopefully three heartbeats up there.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
And as an experienced OPI, what's it like delivering multiples?
Speaker 3 (31:05):
So I've delivered triplets. I've actually delivered some triplets vaginally
back in the day. But that was a lady who
came into pre term labor and was in cracking labor
and sort of went on and delivered quite quickly. But
usually we try to deliver higher auto multiple pregnancies. Bices
are in section and so I've been involved with some
triplet burths. We had a set of quadruplets at one
(31:28):
of the public hospitals that I work at, I think
it was last year, and oh, you could not get
a seat at that table. I might have even been
on call for the day for the delivery suite, but
there were many other obstetricians who put their hand up
before me to be present for the caesar. You know,
that might be a once in a lifetime or twice
in a lifetime thing as an obstetrician to see quadruplets
(31:49):
being delivered. So yes, but there was a cast of
thousands because you've got to have a pediatrician present for
all the baby, so four pediatricians and four pediatric intensive
care nurses or neonatal intensive care nurses present, and a
number of antists, the surgical team and the theater team.
So there's lots and lots of people in the theater.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Diary of a Birth was hosted by me Kasanye Lukitch
with expert input from doctor Broman. Divine and while we
have you here, we are on the hunt to share powerful,
underrepresented stories from people of all cultures, backgrounds, and abilities,
so please get in touch. This episode was produced by
Tina Matalov and myself Cassanya Lukich, with audio production by
(32:38):
Leah Porges
You're listening to a MoMA Mia podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Mamma Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters
that this podcast is recorded on. We pay our respects
to elders past, present and emerging, and feel privileged to
continue the sharing of birth stories and knowledge that has
been a fundamental part of Indigenous culture.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
I'm Cassenya Lukij and this is diary of a birth.
Growing a baby is truly a remarkable thing, from the
tiny poppy seed to a fully grown baby in just
nine months. If you've had a pregnancy, you know that
the reality is that it's often not an easy task.
But the thought of housing multiples has always been absolutely
(01:08):
astounding to me. Wanting to grow her family, today's mum
went for her dating scan with baby number two, expecting
nothing out of the ordinary. But then the old sound
tech started count one, two, three.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
She was having triplets, and then she took second to
be like, and there's a third one over here. And
at that point I was like, my eyes were just
so shocked, and I was like, please stop counting.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
With a toddler in tow a demanding career and a
two bedroom apartment, things were about to change. Traumatically, leading
her to not only deliver three healthy babies, but also
becoming an advocate for parents of multiples. So let's meet
today's mum.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Hi, this is Celia and this is the diary of
my birth with triplets.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
So, Celia, you have a pretty incredible story. You know
the work that you do now, which we'll talk about
a little bit later. But you and your husband Jordan,
had an eighteen month old bub Mad's and decided that
you wanted to grow your family. So what did that
kind of look like? What year are we talking?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Oh, this is post COVID or still in the COVID times,
about twenty twenty one, and we were looking to have
another child. We really loved matt'son, really enjoyed the experience,
and we just tried too hard. I think we were
really looking forward to growing our family.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
And did you forull pregnant fairly easily?
Speaker 1 (02:47):
I did for pregnant surprisingly quickly. I think I had
just taken out the IUD birth control and we're going
to start straight away. And I pretty much got pregnant
literally the next cycle. So it was really quick and
sudden and exciting.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah, but also such a shock even when you want
to if you're like, Okay, I've got some time. Maybe
we've got like six months, maybe it's three months, and
then it happens straight away. There is that element of.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Shock finitely, especially because with Mad's my first child. We
weren't really trying. It just happened, So I had no idea,
you had no metric of how long I'd have to
wait to have a second child or how long it
might take. So we were were really not thinking about
it too much and then it just happened so quickly. Yeah,
and it was really exciting.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
If you don't mind me asking, how old were you
when you fell pregnant with the triplets.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
With the triplets, it's twenty six.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Twenty six, okay, so fairly young. You go to your
dating scan, and can you tell me about the experience
of walking in the dating scan with Jordan.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
It was still COVID time, so there was a chance
Jordan wouldn't even be able to come to that scan
for some reason, and we found a place where he
could come and he did, And I was feeling so
confident walking into that dating scan because I was like,
you know, when you have a second kid and you're like, okay,
more confident parent. This time around, I felt like really
(04:18):
excited to do some things that I hadn't done with
my first child that I felt like, I'm going to
do it differently this time. And that just fully went
out the window when I was in this dating scan,
so lying down adult sound, and the woman who was
doing the scan just looked at us and you know
when it's really quiet and you're like, oh my gosh,
(04:39):
what's wrong. Yeah, taking a long time, and she was
just like, how did you get pregnant? How did you conceive?
And I was like, what do you mean? I thought
it was a really odd question. Was those small talk
the usual way or you know? She was like, okay,
because I'll just tell you what I can see here
and I was like, okay, yeah, what can you see?
(05:01):
And she was like, I've got one here, I've got
a heartbeat, and I was like great. She's like, and
I can see a second one over here, and at
that point we were like, oh my gosh, twins, Like
that's exciting. And then she took a second to be
like and there's a third one over here, and at
that point I was like my eyes were just so
shock and I was like, please stop counting, like is
(05:24):
that like? Because the way she said it was like
so much drama. And she was like, I'll just check
there's no more and I was like, yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
You will check, Please, will Chase do what else.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Is in there? Jordan was laughing, He was just smiling
at me. He just thought this is incredible. It's a miracle.
And I was just like I couldn't process. I was
just like going to shock. Basically, you're just thinking like
what is going on. We actually got her to print
out the ultrasound pictures because I was like I need them.
I need to be able to see that this is real.
(05:59):
And we walked out of that and the thoughts that
go through your head after you find out that information.
I was just like going through so many logistical thoughts
like do we need a big car? Do we need
to move house because we live in a two bedroom
house in Sydney renting, and like what kind of pram
do you have with triplets? And just immediately down this
(06:20):
like rabbit hole of thoughts and me and Jordan get
back to our house. I just remember I was like,
can you just get a piece of paper? We need
to like work out all the things that we need
like very practical.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Geahn, are you quite type A?
Speaker 1 (06:33):
I guess organized about this? I was like, if I
can work out how this could work, like okay, make
some decisions like we're going to move house or do
we need a car, and just work those things out,
like what kind of prem would I want? Would we
need to get? Then I felt like, okay, we can
do it.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
After we had that conversation and I went down like
rabbit holes of like other mums on Instagram who had
triplets and how to look at what prems they used
or what their experience was. And that was like my
day one level of knowledge of like how I'm going
to do this? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
So, I mean, spontaneous triplets is not very common. As
we know. It's an egg that comes down, and if
you're dropping multiple eggs, you get twins. If the egg splits,
you get an identical twin. But to have three eggs drop, yeah,
three eggs fertilized spontaneously is not particularly common. No, So
(07:30):
what was your family's response.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Neither side of our family has any multiples, so it
wasn't on our radar at all. Really did not cross
my mind that this could be a possibility for me.
This could happen to me, and my family were just
equally as shocked and just like show me the photos
because I don't believe you, and then yeah, they were
(07:53):
just trying to match our energy. We were really excited. Obviously,
you can have mixed feelings, so normal to have mixed
feelings about finding out that you're having multiples. I'd made
the decision quite early on. I don't even think it
was really a decision that I would be going ahead
with this, and I'm a triplet mum.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah, I don't think it would be abnormal though for
someone to think is this something that I can handle?
And I think that that would be a really no
more thought to have. But yeah, look, obviously a complete shock, overwhelmed,
but you took it anyway. You know what, these are
the cards that we have been dealt, and we're going
to manage theirs.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Ye.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
So obviously being a multiple pregnancy, a triple pregnancy, you
were considered high risk. What was your prenatal care?
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Like I had a really good GPS that i'd been
seeing since like i'd had MADS, so I was really
fortunate and I went to see her immediately and I
was like, have you seen this scan, and she was
like in a really thoughtful way, she was like, not
everyone can handle this sort of what you're saying, and
(09:01):
there are options if you can't. And I just felt
like that was a really beautiful way of putting it.
But at that point, I was nine weeks, you know,
from the beginning of finding out it already accepted like
diet am going through with this and obviously selective I
don't know what it's called, but you could reduce your pregnancy. Yeah,
(09:22):
and it's really touchy subject with parents of multiples. Yeah,
And obviously different doctors can bring it up in a
really different way, and I really appreciate the way my
GP brought it up at that point. She was like, great,
you're gonna go ahead with it, and like, this is
what we're going to do. You're going to get linked
up with the hospital as a high risk pregnancy. So
(09:44):
I was referred to the RPA and started seeing different doctors.
Basically every time I went to the clinic, I'd get
a new doctor and just have really long scans that
would take forever because they have to assess each baby,
and the part that took the longest was working out
(10:04):
which one was which yeah, making sure that they're scanning
the right one every time.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
So was it three fraternal?
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yes, so it's called TCTA. So try choreonic, try amniotic.
They're each in their own sack, they each had their
own center. They couldn't guarantee that they were for eternal
from the start, but once they were born, it was
obvious to me that they were fraternal, at least the
two boys.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
You must have been starving, Oh, I was so hungry.
I know that sounds like a crazy question, but I mean,
growing three babies, that's a huge undertaking. How did you
feel within your body as you were growing these babies?
Were you scared for if your body could handle it?
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Absolutely? I think I kept kind of reverting back to
this match, like my body created these humans and it
can handle them. But I was really scared. I had
no idea. I think I just wasn't prepared. No one's
really prepared to have multiples. And there's so many risks
that the doctor wants to tell you straight up, like
(11:10):
you could experience like much higher risk of premature labor
or birth, and different multiple specific risk to babies like
restricted growth, and if they share a placenter, there's other
risks though. They were like, well, because they've each got
their own, you're having three pregnancies at once, like was
(11:31):
the way they described it. Because other twins could have
a shared placenta or a shared sack, and they have
more risks. So he was like, in a good way,
You've got like the least risky version of a triplet pregnancy,
was what the doctor told me. I was like, okay,
we'll take the winds or I can get it.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Yeah, I was feeling a lot of things. I had
a toddler. I was thinking about him. I was thinking
what that would mean for him. I'm going to be,
you know, really care about my career a lawyer, you know,
young lawyer at the time, and I thought, okay, does
that mean that's over or how much more time am
I gonna have to take off? Just the pressure of
(12:09):
like the COVID times as well, and then just thinking
about the cost, just trying to find other people who've
experienced a triplet pregnancy and have triplets. I didn't know
anyone at the time, any one person that I reached
out to. Just trying to work out so many things
at once.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Yeah, and I mean Mad's was only eighteen months old,
so you know, even with a single pregnancy, running after
a toddler while you're pregnant is exhausting, and being a
lawyer is a very high demand job. Did you speak
to your firm about what that would mean? Did you
talk to them about finishing early?
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Like?
Speaker 2 (12:48):
How supportive were they with you?
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Really supportive. I was really grateful. One of my managers
she had twins. They were like grown up, and so
she was like, welcome to the club, this exclusive club multiples. Yeah.
So it was such a warm reception to the news.
And I remember doing it on a team meeting because
(13:12):
we were all working from home at the time, I think,
and just been like I've got an announcement like pregnant,
and team was like, yeah, yeah, that's exciting and not
like a huge surprise because I had an eighteen month old,
you know. But then I put a photo of the ultrasound,
like shared screen with the ultrasound image and everyone was like,
what do you mean.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
It's definitely not something that you hear every day coming up.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
So I just have this moment that was like so
special where they put all three babies on my chest
and Jordan's taking this video of me, and I just
couldn't believe it. I was like, did this really happen?
Speaker 2 (13:54):
So let's talk about towards the end of the pregnancy.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
How are you feeling tired, exhausted and still trying to
look after Mads and do things. And I was just
saying the other day, like, I don't know if this
is part of that thing where after you give birth
there's a hormone that just tries to wipe your memory
of being pregnant, because I can't actually put myself back
(14:20):
in that body, but I do remember how I was
so tired, I was falling asleep during the day, how
heavy I was, Like I was basically full term by
twenty weeks pregnant, and people would be like, oh, I
must be ready to go any date. I've got weeks
to go, got weeks to go, and I'm getting so big,
so heavy, and dealing with appointments and trying to look
(14:45):
after a toddler and work and also buy a car
and like get all these different things. And I joined
my local multiple berth club, which was amazing because got
so much support from them, emotional and support connection and
also just a place where I could ask the random
niche questions that only a parent of you know, triplets
(15:09):
would ask and get so many different answers and people's suggestions.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
I feel like we're very fortunate in this day and
age where there are so many of these support group
there are no matter what you're going through, there is
probably someone out there that is going through the same thing.
So to have that kind of support makes you feel
a lot less alone. I am absolutely without making assumptions,
I'm assuming you had a cesarean.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Yes, yeah, I mean I don't know.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
You know, sometimes back in the day, they wouldn't it happened.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
It does happen.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
It happened, but obviously for your safety they would have
recommended a cesarean for you.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
When were they hoping to have that in place? It
was a week by week assessment. Actually it was really
like I think it's a product of me almost seeing
a different doctor every time I went to the hospital.
But essentially it would be like, go to the hospital,
get measured, do your ultrasound, see how they're growing, and
(16:06):
then a doctor would look at that and be like, yep,
everything's going fine. And honestly just kept progressing in that
way and there was no reason to rush When it
got to about thirty three weeks thirty four weeks, I
was like, what's going on? Because I am mentally done,
Like I just can't so heavy, I'm not sleeping, I'm
(16:28):
so sore, I've got pups rush. I was getting close
to the end of like when I could hold on
to and it was ideal to keep them in until
about thirty five weeks, something about like their lungs developing,
so I was trying to hold on till then. But
by about thirty four weeks, I was like, please, just
when am I going to do this? And they were like, oh,
(16:48):
we actually don't have any spots for another two weeks
or something, and I was like, no, no, I don't
think you understand. I need to come out sooner than that.
So I had to go kind of through an emergency pathway,
it's what they called it. But it was the same
as what anyone would experience. I guess. It just wasn't
like a set date for me. It was like come
in on Friday and then like probably on the weekend,
(17:11):
like woh, Monday, it will happen. So yeah, I had
an iron infusion because they were concerned about are the
best thing ever yeah, and thank god I had that
because I lost lots of blood. They were like the imfusion. Yeah,
So I did that first and then got admitted into
the hospital with Jordan, and at that time still COVID rules,
(17:34):
so if Jordan had been tested positive with COVID, he
wouldn't be able to be at the birth. So I
was so stressed, Like it was a really stressful time
just in the lead up, being like I'm so done. Also,
we can't get COVID because like you cannot not be there,
and they only allowed one support person the birth. Like
I'm sure that's not the case now, but that just
(17:57):
inevitably meant that we would be separated. Because I knew
that the babies would be born prematurely. They were going
to go to the NIKU and I was going to
go somewhere else. So just like having to come to
terms with you're not going to have this birth that
you had when you had one child. It's going to
(18:17):
be entirely different, and there's lots of things you can't
control having true blitz. So it's just trying to mentally
prepare for that birth that wasn't going to be anywhere
near thing I had experienced or anyone else I knew
had experienced. This is really stressful kind of context and
trying to keep calmness. And yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Mean I think that the mental aspect of it is
incredibly important. And you know, I had one of my
babies in COVID too, and that anxiety of Okay, if
I get COVID, I'm giving birth in a COVID ward alone.
If he gets COVID, he can't come. It's a lot
of additional thoughts and a lot of the stories that
(18:56):
we've been telling recently obviously around that time, but it
was it was this real moment in time of this fear,
additional fear, not to mention that you're also carrying three babies.
So the babies are born on the twenty first of January.
Tell me about when they came out.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Yes, it was an incredible day of anticipation. So me
and Jordan we actually got our own room, and then
I felt like the doctors were kind of fighting over
who could do the birth. This woman doctor was like,
I think I'm going to do it, and I was like, great,
you do it. Like you know, it's a quite exciting
thing for a doctor. I think I assume and we
(19:34):
had a chat with the anesthetist and go down to
the room like I'd had a cesarean before because I
had MADS. And the one request I made to the
doctor was about not getting them mixed up because I'd
already named them inside me. So he was like any
other question. I was like, yes, this one is Eric,
(19:56):
this one is Teddy, and that one's Ada, and you
cannot mix them up when you take them out. Obviously,
Ada you know that one. But the boys I had
already named inside me, just based on their movements. So
I was really stressed that to him, and he's like, okay,
got it.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
I love that you could tell who was moving.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Yeah, I could tell. I could tell. Teddy just had
this personality of like a little soft Teddy Bear and
he wouldn't move very much. And Eric was like kicking
like crazy, Like I have these videos of my stomach
and you'll think, like Frush Show, you'll think it's an
alien or something because it just looks like limbs poking
out of my stomach. That's probably Eric. And it's so
(20:35):
funny just reflecting on that part now, because they could
not have each other's names because Teddy's like this teddy
Bear and Eric is like just this super independent just
wants to run around and like jump on things, and
it matches their personality so much, and it was something
I was so sure about before giving birth. I was like,
(20:55):
don't mix them up, because that is their names. And
it was something that we both agreed we needed to
have sorted because the chaos already of having three. We're
not like naming them afterwards or something. We're like, get
it all done, yeah, make sure they're labeled and got
the names. And so then I got wheeled into the
operating room and obviously Jordan had to step outside because
(21:18):
they don't let them be there when you have the needle,
and he found that really stressful because he was like,
it's so hard not being there with you. But once
he came back in, they started the operation and basically
the same as necessarian that I'd had before. There's nothing
that I hadn't expected, but yeah, the amazement of having
three come out, and also just the incredible amount of
(21:40):
people in that room in the operating theater, like never
seen so many doctors, nurses, like pediatrician, per child like
on standby, Like it was crazy with so many people
and they brought out Ada first and like took down
the sheets so I could see her, and then Teddy
(22:01):
was next, and then Eric and one of the midwives
actually brought Ada to my face so I could see her.
Because I really had the lowest expectations of what could
happen because they were premature. I was thirty four weeks
and five days at that point. You know, they set
you up. They're like, well, if there's an issue, you know,
they might just have to be taken away straight away.
(22:21):
Being able to be next to her, I didn't get
to hold her, but like put our faces together and
see her face. So the first time was incredible. Yeah, yeah, this.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Makes me want to tear up a beautiful Yeah me too. Yeah.
So obviously they had to spend a few weeks in
the niqueu to help their lungs develop. I imagine how
long were they in niku for nineteen days total? That
was actually really good. Yeah, and for being that premature.
After the birth, they went into the recovery and didn't
(22:53):
get to hold them straight away. They were down in
the nicku and Jordan was with them. He was taking
videos of them for me, being very good sending them
to me. Good heave you yeah, very good.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Then it took quite some time, like quite a few
hours for me to actually properly go meet them for
the first time, felt like forever. It was about nine
hours I think after the operation because I had issues,
like with pain. It was in so much pain, like
a nine up twoin. No one was there to advocate
for me. Jordan's with the baby, so I was just
(23:25):
like pressing the button hoping someone will come. Once I
got the pain managed, then me and Jordan went down
there together and I could They had to like wheel
your whole bed down to the NICU.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Well you're not walking delivering three, god know.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
And they let me have a cuddle with one and
then they just put the other two on my chest
as well. So I just have this moment that was
like so special where they put all three babies on
my chest and Jordan's taking this video of me, and
I just couldn't believe it. I was like, did this
really happen? Like I was just feeling so grateful in
(24:05):
that moment that my body managed to do that and
I had these three babies and they were safe, they
were on my chest and I could feel them for
the first time. Properly.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Did you feel really proud of yourself?
Speaker 1 (24:16):
I did. I was just like it's one of those
moments that just takes you out of as weld, Like
it was really timelessly just a moment for me and
for Jordan. Yeah, he was just in so much awe
of how I could do that as well, I think
getting the physical representation of like, wow, how did you
(24:37):
do that? Like You've made these three perfect babies, like
it was, yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
It's beautiful. In nineteen days? So did you I imagine you're
probably in there for about a week.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Yeah, it was about five days to a week I think,
and then yeah, they just sent you home.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
And you just came in I imagine every day to ye, yeah,
do what you need to do.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Yeah, you've got to. We tried to work out a
little routine where we would Mads would be with my
parents and then we would go around the same times,
be feeding times, do a feed. I was breastfeeding two
at once, not trying to and trying to get the
help of the lactation consultants to help me do two
at once so that when I came home I could
(25:17):
do it by myself.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Did you breastfeed for long? All that is amazing. Us
mothers know how challenging breastfeeding can be. One of my
very very close friends went through twins and trying to
tend and breastfeed them was one of the most difficult
things that she went through, and I really applaud you
for that. Well done for doing that, and I can't
(25:40):
imagine how exhausted you would have been through that. I
know you really advocate for support and mental health for
multiple parents. Can you tell me a little bit about
the work that you're doing now.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
When the triples. For about six months, I started volunteering
for the Australian Multiple Birth Association and I'm now the chair.
It really came from a place of feeling so compelled
to help other parents in my situation and who have
multiples feel more supported because I've felt so isolated and
so in need of support throughout the time pregnancy, especially
(26:16):
during the first year of having premature babies at home,
and there just was not enough support in Australia. There
just isn't. There's not enough acknowledgment from the government that
multiples require more support. And so since I've started volunteering
a lot, doing a lot of the advocacy work. We've
(26:36):
been asking the government for parentally per baby because we
think that if we had them one at a time,
we would be eligible for more parental leave. But because
we're so efficient, we have them all together, they can
give us. It's not my fault of efficient exactly. We
obviously need more financial support and support for the organization
(26:58):
so that we're able to support parents better and provide
more hands on community support as well. You're five times
more likely to experience post netal depression if you've had multiples,
and that's a real concern for us. We know that
so many parents say if they had more domestic or
hands on support or more of a community that would
(27:20):
have helped with their mental health, and we want to
be able to provide that to them.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Yeah, kids are expensive, we know they're expensive. You know,
a box of nappies is thirty five forty bucks. You're
going through that multiple times. I mean lower income families,
rural areas. You know, is there a lot of work
that you do with that part of the community as well.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
Yeah, we've got local clubs all over Australia in every
state and territory, and what parents are saying is, yeah,
they're struggling with childcare, they're struggling with the cost of living.
There's no additional relief for a parent of multiples. You
don't get anything. I felt like I was basically treated
as if I had one child going through the system.
And that's a really hard hit to take, and a
(28:02):
lot of families just can't do that. Good friend of
mine who's got quadruplets, you know, she had to set
up a GoFundMe page so that she could be able
to afford extensions to her house. And this is what
you have to resort to when you have more than
you've expected and there's just no support for that.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
It's three times of everything. I mean a car, say
it's six hundred bucks, the PRAM is three hundred to
one thousand dollars, and it's like, oh, we'll just get
your family to help. But like, there's only if everybody
has family, not everybody has family support. And then you're
looking at childcare for two hundred dollars a day, and
then you get a little bit of a rebate, but
(28:40):
then who's working, who's not working, Like it's a huge issue.
So thank you for the work that you're doing. And
I really hope that we can sort of try and
relieve some pressure from mums of multiples. And congratulations on
your babies. How old are they now?
Speaker 1 (28:57):
They're three? Three?
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Are they driving you insane?
Speaker 1 (29:01):
No? I love it. No, they're really funny. Actually, they're
just I feel like I'm writing a childcare. They don't
have their own language. I mean that can can be
common with multiples. But they play their own games together now,
like they're really to imagine itive play, and like they
just without speaking to each other. They don't have a conversation.
They just start doing things like I'll pretend to be
dog and you can walk around like I'm a dog.
(29:23):
And they haven't even had conversation. It's so interesting to
watch them. They're fascinating. It's so much fun.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
At least they're entertaining each other. Yeah, you know that.
That's They've got buddies for life. And I'm sure Mads
isn't too left out either. He's their leader. He's like,
this is what we're doing now. He loves it, he
loves that. Yeah, he's great. Well, thank you so much
for your time today and sharing your story.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Celia's story is astounding to me, but I wanted to
know how common are spontaneous triplets. For this, we turn
to obstetrician and gynecologist doctor Bronwin Devine.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
Well, it's not common at all, but we're seeing more
spontaneous triplets now because fertility clinics are very, very reluctant
to put back multiple embryos and very careful when they're
doing ovulation induction cycles to avoid people having multiple pregnancy.
So we're seeing more spontaneous multiples coming through than we
(30:27):
used to see in the days when fertility clinics were
a little bit more likely to put back multiple embryos
in IVF cycles. But certainly the incidence of spontaneous triplets
in Australia is sort of between about one in six
and a half thousand and one in seven thousand, so
not super common, but you do see them coming through.
And it is always shocking when you go via dating
(30:48):
scan and the sonographer becomes very quiet and suddenly you're
looking at the screen and you can see three sacks
up there and hopefully three heartbeats up there.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
And as an experienced OPI, what's it like delivering multiples?
Speaker 3 (31:05):
So I've delivered triplets. I've actually delivered some triplets vaginally
back in the day. But that was a lady who
came into pre term labor and was in cracking labor
and sort of went on and delivered quite quickly. But
usually we try to deliver higher auto multiple pregnancies. Bices
are in section and so I've been involved with some
triplet burths. We had a set of quadruplets at one
(31:28):
of the public hospitals that I work at, I think
it was last year, and oh, you could not get
a seat at that table. I might have even been
on call for the day for the delivery suite, but
there were many other obstetricians who put their hand up
before me to be present for the caesar. You know,
that might be a once in a lifetime or twice
in a lifetime thing as an obstetrician to see quadruplets
(31:49):
being delivered. So yes, but there was a cast of
thousands because you've got to have a pediatrician present for
all the baby, so four pediatricians and four pediatric intensive
care nurses or neonatal intensive care nurses present, and a
number of antists, the surgical team and the theater team.
So there's lots and lots of people in the theater.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Diary of a Birth was hosted by me Kasanye Lukitch
with expert input from doctor Broman. Divine and while we
have you here, we are on the hunt to share powerful,
underrepresented stories from people of all cultures, backgrounds, and abilities,
so please get in touch. This episode was produced by
Tina Matalov and myself Cassanya Lukich, with audio production by
(32:38):
Leah Porges
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